NH's new voter ID law causing few problems, officials say

DOVER — A new voter identification law in New Hampshire does not appear to be causing confusion at the polls on Election Day.

The law, which is in effect for the first time this year, requires voters to either show a valid identification with a photograph in order to cast a ballot, or alternatively, to sign a statement attesting to their identity.

New Hampshire was one of several states in which lawmakers recently passed laws requiring voters to show identification, measures that proponents say will cut down on voter fraud.

Critics, including many Democrats, argue the new voter ID laws are unnecessary, and that they stand to freeze out some eligible voters.

Last week, the New Hampshire attorney general and secretary of state called a press conference to stress the message that no voter will be turned away during Tuesday's election, even if they cannot produce valid photo identification.

As of Tuesday afternoon, state election officials reported there were few problems cropping up at the polls as a result of the new voter ID requirements.

“The voter ID seems to be going very smoothly,” Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said shortly before 2:30 p.m. “I haven't heard of any real problems. There have been a couple of reports of protesting, but aside from that, most people are showing their IDs when they go to the polling place.”

Scanlan said his office has received isolated complaints from voters who claim they were told by election officials they were required to have a photo ID, but none have been confirmed.

In the run-up to the election, the groups Granite State Progress Education Fund and New Hampshire Citizens Alliance launched an outreach effort to clarify the new voter ID regulations. The website, www.NHVoterProtection.org, also contains a guide for voters on how to take action if they're challenged at the polls.

One of the group's most high-profile moves was criticizing a campaign flier circulated by Republican state Senate candidate Phyllis Woods. The flier mistakenly stated that voters are obligated to have a photo ID this year.

“The good news is that through a lot of the voter education the voter protection team did, we haven't seen as many problems as we thought would happen otherwise,” GSPE Executive Director Zandra Rice Hawkins said Tuesday afternoon.

Rice Hawkins said her group has dispatched election watchers to a few areas Tuesday after receiving reports of voters encountering problems.

One report came from Pelham, where a voter said someone was standing in front of a sign regarding the new challenged voter affidavits and telling people that they needed to have a photo ID.

"We didn't witness that,” Rice Hawkins said. “We did find that the selectmen down there are taking shifts, and they're greeting (voters) down at the door and letting them know that if they have a photo ID, it will expedite matters."

The group has also received more than one report regarding Nashua's Ward 9, where voters have indicated they were told they will not be allowed to vote without a photo ID. The group has also dispatched a monitor to Nashua.

Otherwise, Rice Hawkins said, it appears that the new voter ID law is being interpreted correctly in most polling locations.

"We do think that that is because of the large number of presentations and fliers and online ads educating voters about the process and the alternatives to a voter ID," she said.

The group is hoping the state will take on some of the financial burden of educating voters about new voting requirements in advance of the next election.